Aiming to avoid back-to-back defeats as they chase down a European berth, Lens will welcome an in-form Angers outfit to Stade Bollaert-Delelis for a Ligue 1 battle on Sunday afternoon.
Les Sang et Or suffered defeat at the hands of title favourites Paris Saint-Germain last time out, whilst Le SCO's on-field triumphs continued at home against Auxerre.
Match preview
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After finishing second and seventh in Ligue 1 during 2023 and 2024 respectively, Lens are now aiming for a third straight European placement at the top table of French football, although Sunday's hosts have struggled to get out of second gear following the winter break.
Since returning from a pause in competitive action over Christmas, Les Sang et Or have lost two of their three top-flight fixtures, including a home clash with perennial champions PSG last weekend, when second-half strikes from Fabian Ruiz and Bradley Barcola completed a turnaround for the visitors.
Opening for the scoring against the Champions League-competing Parisiens last time out, M'Bala Nzola is enjoying a fruitful temporary spell at Stade Bollaert-Delelis, with the Fiorentina loanee bagging five goals across 13 league contests so far, whilst also providing a single assist.
Heading towards the business end of the 2024-25 campaign, Will Still's troops are currently occupying seventh spot in the Ligue 1 standings, two points behind Lyon in sixth and four points back from Monaco, who are guarding entry to the Champions League places at this stage.
Lens need to drastically improve their results at Stade Bollaert-Delelis if they wish to return to UEFA's elite club competition in 2025, with Les Sang et Or winning just three of their nine home matches so far - only Reims (2), Nantes (2) and Le Havre (2) have been successful on fewer occasions at their respective bases.
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With the first-team squad only receiving 40% of their monthly salaries at the beginning of January, Angers find themselves in financial disarray off the field, however Alexandre Dujeux's resilient crop are managing to keep things together in the Ligue 1 trenches.
Since the 2-0 away defeat at Rennes on December 15, Le SCO have strung together a remarkable five-game winning run across all competitions, securing passage into the last 16 of Coupe de France whilst also enjoying triumphs over Brest, Montpellier HSC and Auxerre in the top flight.
Winning each of their last three away matches, Angers have proven to be a difficult nut to crack on the road so far during 2024-25, with the newly-promoted side conceding just nine times across nine outings in Ligue 1, boasting the same record as Luis Enrique's PSG juggernaut.
Bagging his side's second goal in the victory over Auxerre last time out, Esteban Lepaul has made a seamless step up to the stresses of top-flight football this season, with the 24-year-old already scoring two more league goals than he managed in Ligue 2 for Le SCO last term.
Aiming to avoid an immediate return to the second tier, Angers have moved themselves up to 12th spot after collecting a maximum of nine points from their last three league battles, meaning that Dujeux's men are five points ahead of Saint-Etienne in the relegation-playoff zone.
Team News
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Lens' backline has been significantly weakened in recent days, with Uzbekistan international Abdukodir Khusanov moving to Premier League giants Manchester City for £34m.
The departure of goalkeeper Brice Samba to top-tier rivals Rennes was a major surprise for Les Sang et Or, who have acted decisively to bring Matt Ryan from Roma for the remainder of the campaign.
The hosts remain without the services of a number of first-team stars, including Denis Petric (back), Jhoanner Chavez (ankle) and Martin Satriano (knee).
Angers are battling on without the talents of striker Sidiki Cherif, who suffered a serious thigh strain at the end of September against Nantes.
Emmanuel Biumla was subbed off after 45 minutes last weekend, meaning that Abdoulaye Bamba may join Jordan Lefort at centre-back on Sunday afternoon.
Lens possible starting lineup:
Ryan; Sarr, Gradit, Medina; Frankowski, Thomasson, Diouf, Machado; Sotoca, Nzola, Koyalipou
Angers possible starting lineup:
Fofana; Arcus, Bamba, Lefort, Hanin; Aholou, Belkebla, Allevniah, Abdelli, El Melali; Lepaul
We say: Lens 1-1 Angers
After pushing PSG hard last weekend, Lens should have the ability to earn a result against Angers, despite the visitors enjoying a rich vein of form of late.
Le SCO are unlikely to continue their winning run for much longer, and we suspect that they will be forced to settle for a point at Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
